The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Brantley Harbor Homeowners' Association and claims that Charles Foulk, the owner of CollegeBoysLive.com, was violating neighborhood restrictions supported by the local homeowners' policy.
Foulk told XBiz that he believes the homeowners' association filed the suit because gay men were sharing a house together and that the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Frederick Nelson, has a professional history of taking cases against gay people.
Foulk is the owner Orlando, Fla.-based CBL Online, Inc., parent company of CollegeBoysLive. The site launched in 1997 and leased the house in Seminole county from Judith T. Crago of Magnetic Real Estate Network Inc., the lead defendant in the case.
CollegeBoysLive features a rota of between four and six gay men, including Foulk himself, sharing a household under the watch of 24 webcams and audio devices. For $9.99 per month, the models are available for chat and provide written diaries of their experiences with other household members.
Calling itself the "Gay Real World," CollegeBoysLive also offers a live radio feed from its site and operates alongside a Tampa, Fla.-based sister site, CollegeBoysLive Tampa, which launched several months ago.
The homeowners' association case was funded by the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance that defends religious cases on a pro bono basis. However, Foulk was forced to put up the cash for nearly two years of legal fees to keep up the fight, draining his personal and professional resources.
Foulk recently moved CollegeBoysLive to a different county to avoid what he referred to as "constant harassment" from neighbors and local police.
The plaintiffs claimed in their lawsuit that it was the overall activities in the house that concerned them, including the parties, noise, traffic, and a revolving door of household residents.
The plaintiffs substantiated their suit by tracking advertised activities on the website and proving to the judge that Foulk's Internet business violated a covenant in the homeowners' policy that states: "A home shall be used for residential purposes only."
"That was they're whole point before the judge," Foulk told XBiz. "And everything else just fell to the wayside." Including, Foulk said, overwhelming evidence that numerous other residents in the neighborhood ran businesses from their homes.
Foulk told XBiz that his company is going to appeal the judge's ruling after a formal ruling is issued.